今年，法国南部比利牛斯-东部省的葡萄种植面积被砍掉了14%，而在2000年至2020年间，该省已经失去了近一半的葡萄藤。在朗格多克-鲁西永地区，今年有近15,000公顷——相当于华盛顿特区面积的五分之四——的葡萄藤正被拔除。全国范围内，2023年有近30,000公顷申请葡萄藤销毁补助，政府每拔除一公顷葡萄藤补贴4,000欧元。根据国际葡萄与葡萄酒组织的说法，朗格多克-鲁西永、波尔多和罗讷河谷地区均面临葡萄园被抛弃的现象。

虽然朗格多克-鲁西永出产的不是波尔多或勃艮第那种世界著名的高档酒，但这个地区占法国葡萄酒产量的28%，2024年将产出近1,000万升葡萄酒，是波尔多产区产量的近三倍。该地大多是小农合作者种植且成本较低的葡萄酒，如今却因干旱、水资源紧缺和能源成本上升等原因陷入困境。当前包括Baixas在内的佩皮尼昂周边区域的地下水位依然极低，水资源被列为“危机”状态。

全球范围内饮酒量的减少也加剧了该区域的困境。25岁及以下的法国成年人有近四分之一从不饮酒，而每天饮用葡萄酒的法国人比例从1980年的51%降至如今的11%。市场消费习惯转向少量高品质，廉价葡萄酒受到最大冲击。葡萄种植户努力转型，有人开始种植橄榄、石榴等抗旱作物，或探索“自然”有机葡萄酒。但对土地的耕作者来说，更多的是无奈而非遗憾。他们预计葡萄种植户将会越来越少。

This year, 14% of vines in the Pyrénées-Orientales department have been destroyed, adding to nearly a 50% loss from 2000 to 2020. In Languedoc-Roussillon, nearly 15,000 hectares—four-fifths the area of Washington, DC—are being uprooted in 2024. Across France, almost 30,000 hectares applied for removal subsidies in 2023, with the government offering €4,000 per hectare. The International Organisation of Vine and Wine reports widespread abandonment in the Languedoc-Roussillon, Bordeaux, and Rhône regions.

Though Languedoc-Roussillon does not produce Bordeaux or Burgundy’s iconic wines, it accounts for 28% of France’s wine by volume, with a 2024 output nearing 10m hectolitres—almost triple Bordeaux's volume. Local growers, typically in small co-operatives, now struggle due to drought, scarce water reserves, and higher post-Ukraine-war costs. Water tables remain low and irrigation restrictions are severe, especially in the “crisis” zone around Perpignan, including Baixas.

Declining global wine consumption compounds these troubles. Nearly a quarter of French adults under 25 now abstain, and the share of daily wine drinkers plummeted from 51% in 1980 to just 11% today. Consumer preferences have shifted toward less but better wine, hurting lower-priced producers the most. Growers are adapting by moving upmarket, turning organic, or switching to drought-resistant crops like olives and pomegranates, but many accept that vine cultivation will continue to shrink.